A tale of parents WAAGing the dog

LAVERNE HUSTON HAS seen it all before and it worries her. The Windsor High School volleyball coach knows the pressure a coach can be under from parents to resign because she went through it at Valley High School when she left as head volleyball coach of the Vikings program after the 1990-91 season. She resigned under what she said was pressure from an influential parent on the school board.

So when Windsor head football coach Doug Appel resigned on April 17 in part because of pressure from parents associated with the new Windsor Athletic Advisory Group, a nonprofit organization of Windsor parents, it made her wonder if any coach in her building is safe.

“Ultimately, it was coach Appel’s decision to resign,” Huston said. “But given the pressure he was under and the criticism he was under, I would have done the same thing. No family or coach should have to go through that. I think every coach in the building should be concerned where they stand and where does the administration stand on it.”

Huston’s concerns are understandable. While parents groups that support the athletic program can be beneficial, the concern is the tail will someday be WAAG-ing the dog. Will parents be exerting too much influence over which coaches should be hired or fired instead of school administrators who have the knowledge and expertise to make decisions that are best for the athletes.

This is a line that shouldn’t be crossed.

The recent furor of Appel’s resignation ignited a firestorm of controversy about WAAG and its motives. That was only exacerbated by WAAG president Scott Glahn’s comment that he felt that his organization did have some influence over Appel’s decision to resign.

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The problem is that the Windsor community is unclear what WAAG’s agenda is and how much influence the organization should have and will have over future coaching decisions.

Glahn declined comment on the issue, only willing to say on the record that it was “because of the position the Tribune has taken with us.”

However, WAAG co-founder Martin Lind said the group has no intention of becoming involved in coaching decisions and has kept quiet on the issue of Appel’s resignation at the request of the school district, which asked the group not to air their complaints through the press.

“From the onset, WAAG was told and directed by the school administration that we would have absolutely no say and no input into the hiring or firing of coaches,” Lind said. “With accepting that role, all we did was exactly what the school district asked us to do which was if there is information out there that will help them make better decisions, we were asked to bring forward that information.”

Windsor athletic director Dick Thomas said that WAAG will be treated the same as any booster group or parent advisory group that is at the school.

However, Huston’s son, Zach, a 17-year-old who will be a senior on the football team next fall is not so sure. He believes the muscle flexed by the WAAG group may only further encourage parents to meddle in coaching decisions.

“A group of parents or anyone now knows that they have the power to form a group and at least get a coach to resign,” said Zach, a strong supporter of Appel. “Now they know the athletic director is not going to step up and say something.”

Hopefully, members of WAAG will choose to turn their attention to the positive goals of the organization to help the athletic program through fund-raising campaigns, scholarship programs and helping improve the school’s feeder program.

If so, it can help heal a community torn apart.

“Right now my biggest concern as a head coach at Windsor High School, as a parent and a member of the community is what it has done to our community,” Huston said. “It has divided us in two and three different groups and Windsor is not big enough for that.”

Huston has gone through such turmoil before. She hopes it will not happen again.

Matt Schuman is a part-time sports reporter for the Tribune. Reach him at (970) 352-0211 or via e-mail at schuman@greeleytrib.com.